The Astrobiology Science Conference, 2008

The 5th Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon08), hosted by the SETI Institute, brings together a community of scholars, students, and educators that is as vigorous and intellectually diverse as ever. These qualities are reflected in the content of this volume, which includes 647 abstracts involving 1,683 authors from 28 countries. These abstracts are organized into 38 topical sessions and 6 plenary sessions that were developed around the three major themes of the conference: the astrophysical and planetary context for life; the origin and evolution of life; and the search for life in our Solar System and beyond. An astounding range of subjects is covered--from prebiotic chemistry to cosmology, with stops at virology, Precambrian geochemistry, and Mars exploration, among other subjects, along the way. Presenta- tions on engaging students, teachers, and the public in astrobiology thread throughout the conference, reflecting its broad appeal. Clearly, the community is healthy and poised for a vibrant future!

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about AbSciCon08 is that the intellectual breadth of this conference no longer seems so unusual, particularly to an emerging generation of scientists who grew up as students, postdocs, and young faculty alongside the now-decade-old NASA Astrobiology Institute. To those of us in that cohort, it is amusing--and revealing--to look back at the 1st Astrobiology Science Conference, held at NASA Ames Research Center in 2000. That such an event would take place at all was seen as so novel and unusual that it was covered as a noteworthy news event by Science Magazine (v. 288, p. 603). "Every talk, it seemed, touched on a new discipline", wrote the reporter with a note of amazement, further marveling at how "disciplinary walls teetered" and deeming it noteworthy that a planetary geologist (Bruce Jakosky) would say, "I now talk to microbiologists on a regular basis. That's something new"!

Of course, in 2000, astrobiology was something new, or at least something extremely unusual. Not so today. True, such conversations still take place less frequently and with more cross-disciplinary awkwardness than they should. But there are few better measures of the maturation of this young field than the fact that such conversations are now unexceptional and, in some quarters, even expected. May the abstracts in this volume stimulate more such conversations, beyond the confines of the Santa Clara Convention Center and the month of April, 2008. Astrobiology is growing, and has an exciting and inspiring future.